Taken from memory, so there may be some I've forgotten. Many thanks to those so generous to share with me (and in a few cases, to me for having had the foresight to stock the wines). It helps to have lived a long time -- did I ever tell you what 1870 Lafite tasted like from cask?
Pfalz and the oldest wine I've ever tasted by a good margin: 1811 Forster Ungeheuer Riesling (Auslese I believe, although not so marked on the handwritten label). Maybe it was better 50 or 100 years ago, but still more than vital and of interest and enjoyment. The oldest among a fabulous selection of 19th and 20th century wines presented by Bassermann-Jordan in August 2018.
White Burgundy: 1846 Meursault-Charmes from Bouchard P&F, drunk in 2006 (275th anniversary dinner). Still vital and of interest and enjoyment. Clearly had been botrytised, as was the case with the excellent 1939 Montrachet that preceded it.
Red Burgundy: 1865 Beaune-Grèves Vigne de l'Enfant Jésus. Same 2006 dinner -- quite alive and impressive (person next to me had a pour from a different bottle and it was barely alive).
Claret: Oldest I can recall is 1916 Château Margaux drunk at a dinner ca. 2000. Doing well.
White Bordeaux: 1941 Domaine de Chevalier drunk at the estate in 2001 -- magnificent, was was the 1951.
Sauternes: 1937 Climens, but it was not as memorable as 1945 Rieussec from 375 ml. Both from the mid-/late 1990s. I think I may have had something from the 1920s, but I can't recall it now.
Northern Rhône red: 1959 Hermitage and Côte-Rôtie under the Jaboulet-Isnard label. These were identical to La Chapelle and Les Jumelles under the Jaboulet label, as I've verified with Jaboulet. These were drunk in the mid-1990s, which means that remaining bottles of 1983 Jaboulet La Chapelle and Verset Cornas and 1985 Chave Hermitage and Verset Cornas plus some still later Northern Rhône's in my cellar will be older when I get around to drinking them.
Northern Rhône white: 1952 Chave Hermitage, opened by Jean-Louis Chave in late 1990s or early 2000s. Straight from opened bottle, wasn't memorable. I'm sure Jean-Louis took it upstairs and decanted for service that evening and that it was much better. I still have multiple bottles of 1989 and 1990 Chave white Hermitage at home.
Loire white: 1949 Huët Vouvray Moëllux (don't recall which lieu-dit) in late 1999. Splendid, but served at a restaurant by a big-name but idiotic sommelier who ignored my advice to serve it ahead of the 1975 Yquem and instead served them side-by-side.
Loire sparkling: a red Anjou 1928 half bottle from Maison Prunier drunk in late 1990s or early 2000s. Rosé in color but still quite interesting to drink.
Loire red: I still have 1989 Chinon Clos de la Dioterie from Joguet in the cellar -- at 31+ years when I drink it, it will be the oldest Loire red for me.
Bandol: 1971 Tempier drunk at the estate in 1991 is the earliest vintage, but the oldest, when I get around to finishing them off, will be various bottlings of 1988 in my cellar and I've drunk many vintages from the 1980s and 1990s that were older at time of drinking than the 1971.
Southern Rhône: I'm not a big fan of Grenache and high alcohol wines. I do recall a quite decent 1957 Châteauneuf-du-Pape from the late 1980s or early 1990s, and a very old Domaine des Pallières Gigondas drunk in the early 2000s that was dead.
California: A 1918 sweet wine from Cucamonga (Southern California) that was drunk in the 1980s. This was part of a stash that was found in a closet and may have been from a home winemaker as there was no label other than 1918 on the bottle. Otherwise, a fabulous 1946 Pinot Noir from Beaulieu Vineyards drunk in 1996 is the oldest I can recall.
Alsace: 1985 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Rangen de Thann from my cellar last year -- fabulous bottle (the 1985 Riesling from Rangen de Thann wasn't so hot). Still one bottle remaining.
Champagne -- 1949 Krug. This was drunk ca. 1998 and was delicious, but it is the only bottle on this list for which I have provenance concerns. It was supplied by a world-class collector who lives in the Bay Area, but whom I know to have bought from a number of fake sources (e.g., Royal Wines, which was one of Rodenstock's US outlets, Kurniawan, etc.) He cannot possibly know for all the wines in his cellar which are real and which are fake (and indeed, I'm told that he denies that he's ever bought a fake bottle -- unsurprising since he sells quite a bit of wine these days).
Chianti -- 1956 Chianti Classico Riserva Ducale (gold label) drunk ca. 1996. Very, very good -- and with few exceptions, I'm not a Chianti fan.
Barolo/Barbaresco -- Probably 1985 Barolo Cannubi Boschis from Sandrone drunk from a friend's cellar last year.
Mosel-Saar-Ruwer -- I've had various 1921 TBAs, including the legendary Thanisch Berncasteler Doctor (which on that occasion did not live up to its reputation).
